Recoil absorbing attachment with compressed air restoring means therein



Dec. 23. 1969 R. 1.. YOUNTS 3,484,977

HECOIL ABSORBING ATTACHMENT WITH COMPRESSED AIR RESTORING MEANS THEREINFiled May 51, 1968 2 Sheets-$heet 1 INVENTOR.

m/ U y in FIG.

ATTORNEY Dec. 23. 1969 u s 3,484,977

RECOIL ABSORBING ATTACHMENT WITH COMPRESSED AIR RESTORING MEANS THEREINFiled May 31, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.

FIG. 6

INVENTOR. ROY L. YOUNTS ATTORNEY United States Patent M 3,484,977 RECOILABSORBING ATTACHMENT WITH COM- PRESSED AIR RESTORING MEANS THEREIN RoyL. Younts, 615 N. Mendenhall St., Greensboro, N.C. 27401 Filed May 31,1968, Ser. No. 733,428 Int. Cl. F41c 23/00 US. C]. 42-74 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a recoil absorbingattachment and more specifically to an attachment for use with shotguns,high powered rifles and the like wherein the impact of recoil isabsorbed by an air cushion, rather than by a mechanical snubbing meansas heretofore known in the art.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The recoil or kick of firearms, particularlyshotguns and high powered rifles, is well known among persons accustomedto handling such firearms, and various devices have been used inattempts to diminish the impact of the recoil on the shoulder of theperson shooting the firearm. Such prior attempts have included resilientpads and spring-loaded snubbing mechanisms of various types, each ofwhich is effective to a degree, but none of which have proven entirelysatisfactory.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention on the other handcomprises a resilient housing attached to the butt of the firearm andincludes an air chamber therein which provides a cushion of air betweenthe butt of the firearm and the shoulder of the person firing thefirearm. The recoil of the firearm forces air normally within thechamber out of one or more small openings in the housing, therebyabsorbing the shock normally transmitted to the persons shoulder. Afterthe air chamber is evacuated, a fresh supply of air enters the chamberand it recuperates to its normal configuration, however the air recoveryis too slow, especially in the case of rapid firing firearms. Therefore,a means is provided to replenish the supply of air in the air chamberfaster than if the chamber were allowed to recuperate under normalconditions. Such means cornprises a cylinder of compressed air or othergas such as a carbon dioxide cartridge, which is triggered to releasegas into the air chamber upon recoil of the firearm, or other similarmeans for introducing compressed air or gas into the air chamberresponsive to the recoil of the firearm.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a recoilabsorbing attachment for shotguns, high powered rifles and the likewhich comprises a resilient chamber enclosing a cushion of airpositioned between the firearm butt and the shoulder of the personfiring the firearm for absorbing the shock of recoil by forcing the airout of said chamber and a means for quickly returning air into the airchamber and restoring the air chamber to its normal configuration.

It is another object of this invention to provide a re coil absorbingattachment for shotguns, high powered rifles and the like which moreeffectively absorbs the impact of the recoil than in previously knowndevices.

Some of the objects of the invention having been described, otherobjects will appear to those skilled in the art from the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an environmental view showing the man- Patented Dec. 23,1969 ner in which the butt of a shotgun or the like is positionedagainst the shoulder of a person engaged in shooting the firearm;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the recoil assembly according to thepresent invention attached to the stock of the gun;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal view, partially in section, looking at theright hand side of FIGURE 2, with parts broken away and showing therecoil assembly in relaxed normal condition;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged longitudinal view similar to FIGURE 3, withparts broken away and showing the valve assembly in the carbon dioxidecartridge outlet;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4, but showing the position of thecomponent parts of the recoil assembly at the moment of impact; and

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation similar to FIGURE 3, except showing analternate embodiment of the present invention.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates asmall arms piece such as a shotgun or high powered rifle, to the buttend of which is attached a re'coil absorbing attachment broadlyindicated at 12. The gun 10 may be of any desired style or model and forpurposes of illustration, the invention will be described as though thesmall arms piece were a shotgun.

According to the invention, the recoil absorbing attachment 12 comprisesa molded or otherwise formed piece of resilient, yet relatively stiff,material, including a rear wall 14 and a forwardly extending tubularportion 16 which is adapted to snugly fit around the stock S of the gunto fasten the attachment to the gun. A cutout 18 is provided on one sideof the tubular portion 16, providing access to a hinged flap or door 20in the stock, whereupon gas cartridges may be inserted into an innerchamber 30 within the stock for reasons to be hereinafter described.

Air chamber 24 is substantially airtight except for openings 26, 27, and28, openings 26 and 27 being preferably positioned in opposite walls oftubular portion 16 between walls 14 and 22- and being small enough toprovide a I means for controlling the escape of air from chamber 24 uponrecoil of the gun. It may be possible that the air would escape fromchamber 24 employing only one of openings 26 or 27, however both arepreferred. Opening 28 registers with bore 30 in stock S which receivesand seats a carbon dioxide or other gas containing cartridge 32. The endwall 38 of cartridge 32 engages intermediate wall 22 around opening 28,so that the only outlet for the carbon dioxide gas is through theopening 39 in end wall 38 and into chamber 24. A substantially rigidvalve activating pad 34 is attached to rear wall 14 within chamber 24opposite the opening 28 in intermediate wall 22.

Carbon dioxide cartridge 32 is of the conventional type which generallyincludes an elongated neck portion 36 and a cap or end Wall 38 which ispunctured to allow a release of the gas within. The cartridge 32,designed for use with the present invention, however, is slightlymodified so that end wall 38 does not have to be punctured to releasethe gas. Rather a valve 40 normally closes an opening 39 in the cap 38,whereby the gas may be selectively released from within the cartridge.

Valve 40 comprises a plunger 42 extending from within the neck 36 ofcartridge 32 through opening 28 in intermediate wall 22 and isreciprocal in a direction toward and away from pad 34. An end plate 44provides an enlarged head for plunger 42 and is secured to the end ofplunger 42 within the neck portion 36, normally in engagement with theinner surface of end wall 38. An inner plate 48 is positioned withinneck portion 36 and covers the entire interior neck portion of thecartridge, except for an opening 50 which permits gas to passtherethrough. Springs 52 and 54 extend between end plate 44 and innerplate 48, and normally urge plate 44 into engagement with cap 38. Soformed, the valve 40, in normal position prevents the release of air,since plate 44 is normally covering outlet 39.

In use, the valve operates in response to the recoil of the firearm. Asthe gun is fired, the impulse forces the stock S of the gun rearward,whereupon rear wall 14 and intermediate wall 22 collapse toward eachother causing the air to be expelled through openings 26 and 27, thusabsorbing the shock caused by the movement of the stock rearwardly whichwould normally be transmitted to the shoulder of the person firing thegun.

As end wall 1-4 and intermediate wall 22 collapse toward each other, thevalve activating pad 34 engages the end of plunger 42. Upon continuedcollapse of walls 14 and 22 the plunger 42 overcomes the force ofsprings 52 and 54 and opens outlet 39 allowing the gas to be released.Upon release of the gas, chamber 24 quickly refills and walls 14 and 22recuperate to their normal positions. As pad 34 returns to its normalposition, it releases plunger 42, and springs 52 and 54 urge the plungerback to its normal position, closing up the flow of gas from cartridge32.

According to FIGURE 6, there is shown an alternate embodiment, whereinthe carbon dioxide cartridge is omitted as a means for rapidly replacingthe air lost in inner chamber 24. In the alternate embodiment, there isno opening 26 or 27 in the forwardly extending portion 16 of the recoilattachment, so therefore there is no communication between the airchamber 24 and the outside atmosphere. The recoil attachment 12 of thealternate embodiment is very similar to the first embodiment, andcomprises a rear wall 14', a forwardly extending tubular portion 16'providing a means for attachment to the stock of the gun, and anintermediate wall 22' spaced from rear wall 14 and forming an airchamber 24'. The only outlet for the air in air chamber 24 is throughopening 28 into a much smaller chamber 30.

As the gun is fired, and the stock moves rearwardly, the walls 14' and22' collapse and are urged toward each other as in the first embodiment.The air present in chamber 24' is expelled through opening 28', andsince chamber 30' is much smaller than chamber 24', the air iscompressed into the smaller chamber. The impact of the recoil is takenup by urging the air through opening 28' into chamber 30'. After theinitial force is absorbed, the air compressed in chamber 30' seeks anoutlet, and therefore returns through opening 28 refilling chamber 24',so that 4 there is a quick recuperation to the normal position of walls14' and 22'.

There is thus provided a recoil absorbing attachment comprising an aircushion behind the butt of stock S and further including a means forrapidly recovering the air in said air cushion after the impact forcesthe air out of the cushion.

I claim:

1. A recoil absorbing attachment for shotguns, high powered rifles, andsimilar firearms having a stock and a butt, said recoil absorbingattachment comprising:

(a) a resilient housing defining an air chamber therein,

said housing being attached to said butt;

(b) first means associated with said housing for allowing the controlledescape of air upon recoil of the firearm, whereby the impact of therecoil is absorbed in forcing the air from said chamber; and

(0) second means associated with said housing for forcing air undercompression back into said air chamber after the impact is absorbed.

2. The recoil attachment according to claim 1 wherein said first meanscomprises at least one opening in a wall of said housing adjacent saidair chamber.

3. The recoil attachment according to claim 2 wherein said second meanscomprises a cartridge of compressed gas seated in the butt of saidfirearm, the outlet of said cartridge being in communication with saidair chamber through a second opening in a wall of said housing, and ameans responsive to the recoil of said firearm for releasing the gas insaid cartridge into said chamber.

4. The recoil attachment according to claim 3 wherein said means forreleasing gas comprises a relatively rigid pad attached to a wall ofsaid chamber opposite said second opening, a valve at the outlet of saidcartridge, said pad engaging and activating said valve upon escape ofthe air from said chamber and the collapse of said walls.

5. The recoil attachment according to claim 2 wherein said second meanscomprises a smaller chamber adjacent said air chamber, said smallerchamber having rigid walls, said opening providing communication betweenthe air chamber and said smaller chamber, whereupon the air in said airchamber will be forced into said smaller chamber and compressed uponrecoil of the firearm, then the air will be forced back into said airchamber after the impact is absorbed, so that the air chamber willresume its normal configuration.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 294,402 3/ 1884 Onderdonk 42742,438,142 3/1948 Brower 4274 3,176,424 4/1965 Hoge 4274 SAMUEL FEINBERG,Primary Examiner C. T. JORDAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

